The Incredible Friendship! A Story that You Never Heard Before!

Unemployment is a universal problem and many jobseekers come across painful events on their way to a better life. Here is one of the most fascinating stories made that enemies close friends.

Jama grew up in the historic coastal town of Zeila, where he never got a job with enough salary. He told himself that it was time to work and earn more money in order to get married and help his family. He decided to immigrate to Saudi Arabia through Yemen. He discussed about this matter with three of his friends from Yemen, and they offered him help. They went to Yemen via a small boat. Mr. Jama stayed with them for some days and later they took him to smugglers. Though the journey was very dangerous, he reached Saudi Arabia safely.

He was very welcomed in the rural areas of Saudi Arabia. First, he worked on an animal farm for $100 per month. He left the job after three months and tried to look for a higher paying job. He was offered other jobs with $150 salary but he rejected them. Finally, he moved to a small town, where he worked making building material for 50 dollars per day. The job was so burdensome for underweight Jama, yet it had lots of money.

Unfortunately, he and some Yemeni workers were captured by the police who hunted illegal immigrants. He was asked whether he wanted to follow the Yemenis to their country or to be taken to the capital city Riyadh to unite with some Somalis who were going to be deported. He opted for Yemen and returned to Saudi Arabia a few days later.

On his way to the town on foot, three Saudi men offered him a free ride but he refused as he was afraid of the police. Any way, he was captured again while he was trying to enter the town. He was taken to Riyadh and imprisoned for three months. Then all Somalis in the prison, including him were deported. There were severe wars in Mogadishu at that time.

He took a lorry with many people from Mogadishu to the central region of Mudug to reach his hometown Zeila. The journey was very dangerous because killing and robbery were common in south and central Somalia. Only 20 kilometers from Mogadishu, gunmen who were all masked opened fire at the lorry and killed one of the passengers.

The gunman ordered all of them to touch the ground and asked everyone to hand in whatever he/she had. A 15-year-old boy was threatening passengers as his job was collecting money from them. The gunmen released the passengers and went back to a bush near the street.

Another gunman stopped the lorry and asked the same as the former ones. The travelers told them what happened earlier. The gunman didn’t listen and threatened to kill anyone who failed to pay.  The gunmen fled themselves when they saw Alshabab militias approaching fast. The lorry arrived in a nearby town safely and the passengers buried the corpse. Lastly, they arrived in Galkayo, Mudug. Then, he travelled to Hargeisa and finally arrived home.

One day, Jama joined his friends for chewing khat at noon. Normally men chew Khat for many hours and they discuss about different topics and this time it was about Jama’s deportation. He narrated his story from the day he left Zeila to the day he came back.  One of the khat-chewers and Jama’s close friend listened to the story as his face changed with shock!

The man was born and grew up in Lower Shabelle region. He fled Mogadishu because of the wars.  While all people were silenced by the painful story, the man asked Jama the questions below:

The man: The time was about 7 o’clock, isn’t it?

 Jama: Yes!

The man: Didn’t all of the robbers have mask?

Jama: Yes, of course they did.

The man: One of the passengers was shot dead after the driver failed to stop the lorry, isn’t it?

Jama: (surprised) Absolutely, yes.

The man: Have you seen a young boy called “Elmi” who took passengers away from their belongings?

Jama: Yes!!!!!!!!!!

The man: Elmi was me!!!! Please forgive me!

Jama: Impossible! I cannot believe!

All of the men who were chewing khat were extremely surprised by the two men’s conversation. But don’t forget the two men were friends before the conversation. Then everything became clear as Elmi was not his real name. His real name was Farhan and Jama forgave him because Farhan was a little boy during the incident. The two are now close friends.